• 

  City wants to buy weather radios for those without

  Phil Jones had been working on a construction project outside his house all day on May 22 and was unaware that a tornado watch had been issued. Once he was inside, though, his weather radio went off, and he learned that a warning had been issued.

Joplin Metro

Search Results

Close Previous Now showing: of Next

Previous Next Close

Discussion

March 16, 2009

Joplin council hears report on posed sewage-plant costs

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Mon Mar 16, 2009, 10:11 PM CDT

By Debby Woodin

dwoodin@joplinglobe.com

Expansion projects to the tune of $35 million at Joplin’s wastewater-treatment plants would take 20 years to pay off and would raise rates for every category of user.

A consultant hired by the city, Stephen A. Yonker of Burns & McDonnell, Kansas City, provided the City Council at a meeting Monday night with some of the details of a rate study and cash-flow analysis he did on how to pay for the proposed construction.

That study recommends incremental residential rate increases totaling $6.32 per month over the first five years of the debt. Commercial and industrial customers would see increases in rates and surcharges. Those rates would be staggered depending on the size of meter service the business or industry uses, and whether they discharge solids that require extra treatment.

Nearly half of the city’s number of sewer customers — 47 percent — are residential. The plan would raise rates from the current $21.01 a month to $22.48 the first year of the increases.

In the second year, the residential rate would go to $23.60 per month. In the next three successive years, rates would be $24.78, $26.02 and $27.33, respectively.

Yonker told the council that the proposed rate increases were smaller than he first projected because the city is still paying on the debt it incurred for wastewater-treatment projects about 16 years ago.

Adding new debt to that would take a rate increase of slightly less than 10 percent a year until about 2015 to make the annual payments on both the old and new debt. Instead, Yonker revised the rate plan to begin paying the interest but not the principal on the proposed new debt while the old debt is paid off; that lowered the annual rate increases to 7 percent the first year and 5 percent the next four years.

David Hertzberg, the city’s public works director, said it would not be prudent to project rates beyond five years because the economy, inflation and other factors would influence future rates.

Hertzberg said the city staff will ask the council next month to put a measure on the August ballot seeking voter authorization to borrow the money for the project. Voter approval would be needed for obtaining a loan from a state revolving fund.

Engineers and city staff members have said work in excess of $16 million is needed at the Turkey Creek plant, and about $18 million in work is needed at the Shoal Creek plant.

Much of the work is needed to meet changes in federal environmental regulations that go into effect in 2012.

The Shoal Creek treatment plant is operating at capacity and needs expansion to handle current and future flow, the engineers have said. Currently, the plant treats 6.5 million gallons of wastewater a day. The proposed upgrades would allow it to handle up to 13 million gallons a day.

In other business, the council approved the installation of an additional 240 streetlights at various locations as part of an effort to double the number of lights in the city as promised when voters in 2006 approved a half-cent sales tax for public safety.

That effort so far has added 1,170 streetlights, the council was told.

The council also approved an agreement that will require the developers of 1717 Market Place to pay up to $20,000 in legal costs and city staff time for considering an application to establish a community improvement district in the retail center. That would allow the developers to add a 1-cent sales tax on the businesses in their district to pay for the cost of the intersection at 17th Street and Range Line Road and other infrastructure there.

It is the first time the city has had a request for a CID, and it required outside legal work that, so far, has cost the city $7,000, said City Attorney Brian Head.





Easement



The council granted an easement to the Joplin R-8 School District for a storm-water drain to be installed on property at the city’s public works center to drain the property at North Middle School.

Text Only

Joplin Metro

• Longtime Democrat dies at 81

  Sapp, 81, died Thursday. Funeral services were Monday at the First Presbyterian Church of Joplin. A longtime Jasper County Democratic committeewoman and volunteer, Sapp for years was secretary to the county’s central committee.

  August 9, 2010 1 Photo

• Motivational speaker offers free marriage course

  Presented by Mark Gungor, the course is being offered free to the community. The event is being held to aid in tornado relief. 

  January 12, 2012

• District sends faculty, administrators on site visits

  With the design phase of several buildings in Joplin Schools ending in May, the district has sent 66 administration, faculty, parents and community members on site visits to 22 schools and two technology company headquarters across the country.

  January 11, 2012

• Mural depicting Joplin High School dedicated

  A four-paneled mural depicting the recent history of Joplin High School was dedicated at the Memorial 9th- and 10th-grade Center Tuesday morning. The mural will be moved to the new high school when it is completed in 2014.

  January 10, 2012 4 Photos

• Carl Junction chamber creating new committees

  The Carl Junction Chamber of Commerce is kicking off three new committees this week with meetings scheduled Tuesday and Wednesday.

  January 9, 2012

• Body of missing Joplin man found

  The body of a missing Joplin man was discovered this afternoon inside his home in the Royal Heights neighborhood of Joplin.

  January 3, 2012

• Wildcat Glades nature center receives $50,000 grant

  The Wildcat Glades Conservation & Audubon Center has received a $50,000 TogetherGreen Innovation Grant, which is being provided through an alliance between the National Audubon Society and Toyota.

  October 21, 2011

• Joplin shooting victim’s name released

  The Joplin Police Department today released the name of a woman fatally shot in her home early Thursday and acknowledged that the shooting was reported as a suicide attempt.

  October 21, 2011

• Barry Manilow to deliver donated instruments

  Singer-songwriter Barry Manilow will visit Joplin next week to donate more than $300,000 in musical instruments to replace those lost during the May 22 tornado.

  October 21, 2011

• Extreme Makeover releases names of families

  "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" has released more details about the build in the 2400 block of Connor Avenue, including the names of the seven families. They are:

  October 19, 2011

• More Joplin Metro Headlines

© 2012 Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. · CNHI Classified Advertising Network · CNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2012. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope. Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
Privacy Policy | AP News Registry privacy policy
Terms and Conditions
Advertiser Index

Events by eviesays.com

The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO 117 E. Fourth Street Joplin, Missouri 64801